I'm always saying this, but I can't believe how much fun we have in knitting class! For class this week, this student brought an embroidery kit that she had at home and asked for help. Well...of course!! All forms of fiber arts are supported here in class.

I am continually amazed at what our students can do - and WANT to do. I am so lucky to be able to teach to students who truly are engaged and excited about their art. We do so much knitting and crochet (that is what this class is all about!), but we also do so many other things.

Making a small wallet.

Learning to read patterns with notations like: K2tog and kfb - not an easy task!

It takes a long time to make a scarf.

I was inspired by an art teacher named Cassis Stephens. She taught this circle weaving class to her students. It looked like so much fun that I decided to bring it to our students.

Aren't the bases for our circle weaving beautiful! Just wait until they add the details and then some weaving to them.

These students really love to play hopscotch. It appears that this is an "old time" game because while they knew some of the basics, they really didn't know how to play. I happily taught them the rules and away they went.

Sometimes, they are having so much fun, it is hard to get them to stop playing and come back to knit or crochet.

We don't always knit with knitting needles. This student brought her knitting loom to class to work on.

Spool knitting continues to be a huge hit.

I made these weaving boards for noon art and held back a few for knitting class. They make perfect bookmarks after being taken off the board! The best part? These boards can be used over and over again and are made with recycled (cereal boxes) cardboard.

REALLY? A 10 year old knitting on circular needles?! Yes!

I can't wait until the bases are finished so that they can start the warping and weaving!

I am so excited about what has been going on in the sewing studio lately!! We have had many finishes:

These shirts are quite complicated. They are not "kid" patterns, they are real patterns. The front of the bodice is totally lined and has interfacing in it. There are pleats - both front and back and it is sewn on knit fabric. Job Well Done!

This little puppy is done completely by hand! Isn't he cute?!

He wove this scarf for his mom!

These blouses are coming out so lovely. Lots of hard work and lots of time go into these. Great work!

This bag posed it's own set of difficulties for this student. She chose some gorgeous fabric, but it is a very fluffy fleece and is very hard to sew on. But she persevered and it turned out beautifully!

Celebrating her blouse finish.

Another weaver!

They were taking a little break and I was able to capture them - such a happy crowd.

We are continuing to have so much fun and create so many great items in class!

The beginning of class is such a fun time. The students set out their projects and talk with one another about what they are working on.

Everyone is making such great progress on their projects!

This pom-pom was not quite complete, but was named "Cyclops". Isn't that the cutest? It was finished - another smiley face pom-pom and then gifted to one of the teachers at our school.

One of the things that naturally occurs in our classes is an overall sense of helpfulness. Here it is being demonstrated by one student helping another with her crochet.

At break time we played a game with a balloon.

Once they had accomplished keeping the one balloon in the air, we added a second balloon!!

This student went home last week and made herself a tote bag! With help from her mom, she sewed this up - gotta LOVE it when these creative students have such supportive parents!!

Check out that cute fabric and the little pocket.

When knitting class is over, it is time for sewing class to begin. Or is it??? We have two more new weavers in the sewing class! I am so excited for these students to be able to learn so many fiber skills.

I was a little reluctant to let this student weave with ribbon yarn. Not because it's difficult, but because it is really "fiddly". Meaning it's a little time consuming to get all the ribbon bits to come out the front of the warp threads. I shouldn't have worried on bit!! The fiddly bits do not seem to bother this student at all! And it looks simply fabulous!

These shirts that the kids are making are not all that easy. These are real patterns with many steps. The bodice of this shirt is fully lined. All that is left on it is the arms and the hems! Great job!

Last week we mixed things up a bit in knitting. I find that sometimes, especially on warm, sunny days, the kids get restless about half way through class and need a bit of a break. Knitting for an hour and a half is hard work!

Sorry for the blurry photo. Sometimes it's hard to photograph someone's finished project as it is waved in front of the camera - the kids are just so excited about their creations, they can't hold still! This student made a pom-pom last week and turned it into a smiley pom-pom this week, which promptly retained the name of "Mr. Smiley". So cute!

About half way through class time, the students were getting a little bit restless so we took a small break and played "The Marble Game".

First, I hand each student a paper towel tube that has been cut in half. Then I show them a marble and explain the rules of the game. The object of this game is to work together and keep the marble rolling from person to person without dropping it.

Once the marble has passed from your tube to the next person's tube, you run from the start of the line to the end and get ready to catch the marble again. These students had a great time and managed the all-time record of four rounds!

Knitting classes continue to be a source of fun and entertainment for our students! We do so many things in addition to knitting in this class.

First up though is a pair of VERY cute slippers!!

We also made pom-poms and although they can be made by one person alone, it is much more fun to make them with a friend.

Pom-pom made using only her fingers and yarn :o)

The student who made these learned them in one lesson.

She decided she wanted to make another one. Isn't this lovely, the stitches and tension are all so even - I couldn't have done any better.

Pom-poms were the order of the day!

As you can see, even though this is a knitting class, we learn so much more during our time together - crochet, finger weaving, spool knitting, pom-pom making - really anything yarn related. The kids really have so much fun!

Our last class in November was a complete hoot! Everyone had so much fun!

We had lots of spool knitting. I remember enjoying this so much as a kid, but was unsure of how it would be received by my students. Well, I should not have been worried, they love it! I can't wait to show them some of the animals that I have created with spool knitted strings!

We had the completion of a stuffed bear leg and also the start of the torso - this student is well on her way to having a finished project!

This student wanted to try something a little different - she chose to knit a scarf with sock yarn and US#1 needles. Boy is she brave!! I love knitting on the smaller needles with fine yarn, but it does take a bit longer than if larger needles and yarn were being used. It sure is pretty though!

We also had finger weaving.

My daughter showed up and was immediately put to work by this student. This student is making a finger weave scarf and wanted to know if it was long enough so she asked my daughter to model it to check length. Looks good to me!

This student is really good at knitting and wanted to learn crochet. You know her from her crocheted shoe laces from last time, well she is now making a hair tie to learn sc and practice the tension on her chain stitches. She is doing a great job!

The scarf in one of the previous pictures, can double as a jumprope!

Did you know you can finger weave off of both ends of the ball of yarn?? Neither did I!!

We have such a fun time in knitting class! Our students get so much done!

This student did such a great job on her hat. She cast on with circular needles, knit for 6 1/2", changed to double pointed needles, and then cast off and sewed the top closed. Isn't it such a cute hat?!!

What is just so wonderful about these knitting classes is the friendships that are being made. The students are all so supportive of each other. They help each other with challenges and celebrate finishes together!

This session of knitting is over but the next one starts right up next week!!

WOW!! That's all I can say about today! All the campers worked hard and had a great time finishing up their final projects for the week.

We started out the day with several of our student learning new stitch patterns on the looms. Here we are doing some beaded danish medallions. She finished her project and it is so very pretty. I did not get a picture of it and I am very sorry to not be able to share it with you.

This piece also has beaded danish medallions, but they are much closer together and give a very different look.

This student chose to do sections of even weave interspersed with pile stitch.

Check out the use of two different colors of thread used in the same shed on this piece. This very creative camper came up with this on her own!

I always try to take a picture of each piece being cut from the loom because I completely remember how scared I was to cut my first piece off the loom - terrified doesn't even begin to explain it!! I thought the whole piece would literally explode and come unwoven! These campers are not worried about it at all - they are completely fearless!! It totally amazes me each time.

This young weaver only had a day and a half to work on this beautiful piece of fabric because she had to leave early from camp today. I can't believe how much she accomplished in such a short amount of time - specialty stitches, color changes and enough fabric to use for many things. I also think her choice of colors are perfect and stand out so much against the white on this lovely piece!

I can't wait to hear about this camper using his new placemat!! He came into class knowing exactly what he wanted to make as his second piece and he really did it. Notice the two colors of warp (the dark blue and the light blue) and the great stripes he achieved from it! He also incorporated Pile Stitch and Danish Medallions - great job!

Look at those bright, sunny, happy colors! Doesn't it just make you smile to look at it? I love all the beads - it really takes time and patience to place all of them.

Remember the fabric from yesterday? The one with the many different patterns? Well, this camper turned her fabric into an over-the-shoulder bag! She also wove her own strap and sewed everything together by hand!! What a lovely piece of wearable art.

Close up details of the beaded danish medallions on the strap.

The strap consists of several rows of beaded medallions and leno lace. The rest is all even weave and it is very EVEN!!

Check out those great colors! And all that pile stitch! I can tell you that while creating pile stitch, it is very hard to maintain an even height from the fabric and this camper did an extremely good job at it. All those rows - and there are quite a few of them! - are all even and beautiful!

Each camper did such a great job this week!! They learned so much and had such a great time. The projects that they completed all turned out so beautifully!!